Sunday, April 13, 2014

Esther

I've been reading the book of Esther recently, and I always feel challenged to actually think about it and not just race through the story (which is pretty gripping). I don't think it's a particularly easy book for Christians to read and respond to, but it is there in the Bible for a reason! I was reading some articles about it and I thought I'd briefly post on some ideas for how to receive and apply the book.

1. Esther is a heroine, but not always an ideal one.
I have felt uncomfortable before with books or speakers who, in their quest to find examples of female heroines in the Bible, use Esther as a prime example. They often draw on her courage -which is definitely one of her strong points- and hail her as a hero of faith -something a little less clear in the book itself. She calls a fast, which implicitly would link with prayer, but she doesn't explicitly talk about God or give Him credit when the Jews are delivered (at least, not that is recorded in the book). This would contrast with someone like Deborah in the book of Judges, or Miriam in Exodus 15, who both give songs of praise to God for delivering His people. The events of the book -a great aversion of tragedy- should give rise to the same kind of praise as these previous events in Israel's history. The people celebrate with a feast (still kept today in Judaism), but the reader is left to draw his or her own conclusions about the events the book so meticulously describes.

I think the situation of Esther is certainly an unorthodox one. She is living in exile and to become part of the king's harem, eventually his queen, perhaps seems to be taking 'assimilation' too far. The book of Daniel really emphasises his desire to keep himself separate from the corrupt pagan practices around him; we don't see this in Esther. However, it does seem that God put Esther in her position of power at a key time so that she could intervene to save the Jews from destruction: 'And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?' (4:14) She has to put her own life in danger in order to make her request of the king, and she doesn't let her fear hold her back. Where did this courage come from? Surely it must have come from some amount of faith that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would not let His covenant people, despite being in exile for their disobedience, be annihilated? Esther is certainly the heroine of the story, not always an ideal one, but she does act in courage and (implicit) faith.

2. God is the hero!
Although God's name is never mentioned in the book, God is the hero of the story. So many elements, the events that took place, were outside human control... but not beyond divine intervention. It seems that the whole time, God is providentially watching over His children, and no power against them can stand. There isn't really any other explanation for how the deliverance of the Jews could happen, as there are so many 'co-incidences' or chance meetings which end up being crucial for the saving of God's people. This is, I think, the main way to apply the book today: trust in God's sovereignty over every event, situation in life, and take responsibility to act with courage and initiative when circumstances require it. Barry Webb writes:
'In particular, the hiddenness of God that we find in Esther mirrors the world many of us live in today... the absence of the miraculous does not mean the absence of God. He remains committed to the welfare of His people, and works all things for their good, even when He is most hidden.' ('Five Festal Garments' p131).

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